What a Night
by drgemini86
Summary: A boy turns up the SGC claiming to be Daniel Jackson. Old relationships are examined and brought to light in what follows. A retelling of 703 Fragile Balance. SamDaniel
1. Chapter 1

_**What a Night, by DrGemini86 (DrGemini24)**_

_**Summary: **A boy turns up to the SGC claiming to be Daniel Jackson. Old relationships are examined and brought to light in what follows. Retelling of Fragile Balance. SamDaniel_

_**Pairing: **SamDaniel_

_**Rating: **T_

_**Category: **Established Relationship_

_**Genres: **Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Episode-related, Thoughts_

_**A/N: **It's such a relief to be able to write something other than Jackson Junior; I've seriously had major writer/story block for a little while now and this is the first non-JJ story I've written in a little while. Hope you guys enjoy it – reviews are very, very welcome. _

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam tried not to tense up as the lift plummeted to level 16 of Stargate Command. Whenever she was summoned by General Hammond it was rarely anything good or positive. She fidgeted a little as she tried to think back to anything that she might have done to warrant a summons from the base commander. The last time – or one of the last times – was when she had accidentally left a prototype naquadria reactor to overload, resulting in her entire level having to be scrubbed down. _Not_ something she liked to remember, although, in truth, she had been sleep deprived for all of a week and could not recall the incident.

She took a deep breath and went back to analysing General Hammond's tone during the phone call she had received at home. For once, she wasn't quite sure – there was something in his tone that she couldn't work out. That was definitely a bad thing if she couldn't at least guess what was to come.

Had he found out about...?

She shook her head, relieved that she was alone in the lift as it began to feel a little too warm. Dangerous thoughts. If she didn't think about it, she could deny all knowledge, although she wasn't much of a liar. Still, if push came to shove, she had rehearsed a number of arguments about that particular dangerous thought, or she could give Colonel O'Neill or Teal'c a run for their money in the emotionless mask department.

Great, she thought. 'Now I can't stop thinking about it.'

She frowned a little as the lift continued its plummet. Who else had been called? If it was just her then perhaps it was either some misdemeanour she had since forgotten, or something that required her expertise. She smirked briefly. Perhaps her Dad had dropped in. Her frown returned as she considered that Level 16 was where the bulk of the holding cells were. Although, one of the armouries was there as well.

The lift at last came to a stop and she quickly composed herself. The doors opened to reveal General Hammond waiting for her. As calmly as she could, she stepped out of the lift. She said, sounding slightly puzzled, "General, what's this all about?"

Hammond replied, "At 0920 hours this morning, someone tried to enter the base using this."

As the two of them walked down the corridor, Hammond handed her something encased in a plastic sleeve. Sam frowned as she turned it over in her hands. She glanced up at Hammond and back at the ID again. She said, confused, "Daniel's security pass."

The last time she had seen Daniel was last night – he had seemed fine then. She tried not to blush as thought, more than fine. Now worried, she said, "How did they get this?"

She noticed that he had an odd expression on his face but he didn't answer her question. He sighed, his expression returning to that inscrutable one that now worried her even further. Why was he playing games with her if Daniel was in trouble? Did he know?

He said, "After the person in question was taken into custody, he insisted on seeing you."

They arrived at the doorway of one of the holding cells on the level they were on. She glanced at the two SFs guarding the entrance and her attention returned to Hammond. She said, trying not to sound guilty, "Me? Why?"

Hammond looked at her seriously and said, "Well, I was hoping you could figure that one out, Major." He looked at one of the SFs and said, "Open it."

The SF opened it, and Hammond and Sam entered the room. She stopped in her tracks upon seeing a teenage boy pacing the room nervously. The boy had short brown hair and wore glasses with round rims that he kept having to push up his nose due to them being a little big for him. He was wearing a dark grey zipped sweater, a white t-shirt, and khaki trousers, all too big for him, just like the sand-coloured boots he wore.

Sam visibly blanched as the boy stopped his pacing on noticing them. He made a gesture of barely contained frustration with his hands. He exhaled and said, looking at Hammond, "_Thank you_."

He hitched his trousers up, seeming annoyed at their size. He said, looking at Sam, "Sam, it's me. I know this looks really weird, but it is." He closed his eyes and put a hand to his head. "... and I really need some coffee." He opened his eyes and looked past them at the now bemused SFs. He said, "That coffee I mentioned, any time. Any time today would be good." He interlocked his fingers, clenching them as he said, "Really, really good."

Hammond nodded at one of the SFs who then left the room. Sam, confused, looked at Hammond. She said, "He's a boy, Sir."

The boy held onto the waistband of his trousers with one hand as he gesticulated with his other hand, occasionally pushing his glasses back up his nose. He said, "For the moment, it would seem so. I know how bad this looks, but it's me."

Sam looked at him, not in the least amused at what amounted to a serious breach of security. She would have to have a word with Daniel about not keeping his ID safe. He did have a tendency to be absent-minded but this was something new.

She said, "Who are you?"

The boy looked very much as though he was trying very hard to keep his cool. He said, "Come on, Sam, think about it. Look at me. You know who I am. I can't be that different surely?"

Sam looked at Hammond for some kind of explanation, of why _she_ of all people had been brought to the holding room. Hammond said, almost as unimpressed as Sam was,

"We tried to contact Doctor Jackson; even sent someone to his house. We couldn't locate him."

Sam didn't attempt to hide her fear. She said, "Sir, we need to find him; why are we wasting our time here?"

The boy said with a weary sigh, "Look, I'm me. I'm Daniel Jackson." He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, his head tipped back. He then looked back at the two officers, putting the glasses back on. He said with a frown, "I really need another prescription if I'm going to stay like this."

He said, calmly, "I'm not impersonating anyone. I'm Daniel Jackson."

Hammond and Sam looked at one another, doubting the boy's claims but confused at the entire situation. The boy, frustrated, dropped himself into a seated position on the bed. The General and the Major looked round as the door opened, the Sergeant returning with a white mug. The boy looked up, as though sensing this, and he exclaimed,

"Thank you!" He gratefully accepted the mug from the SF, saying, "Thank you, Sergeant Bates."

The Sergeant looked flummoxed as he left the room. The boy held his trousers up as he took a sip from the mug. His face froze as he tasted the contents of the mug, and he put the mug down on the nightstand next to the bed. He said, grimacing, "Ah, Commissary hot chocolate. _Good call_. If I had wanted to drink mud, I would have said so."

Sam coughed to cover up a smile at the remark as Hammond looked at her. Mirth soon gave way to perturbation. She held up Daniel's security pass, and said, "Where did you get this?"

The boy rolled his eyes as he hitched his trousers up once again. He said, "Well, I've had an ID since I was instated on SG-1." He inclined his head towards the ID in her hand. "_That_ particular ID I was issued with after you, Jack, Teal'c, and SG-3 brought me back from Vis Uban."

Sam felt her throat closing up a little at what the boy in front of her was claiming. She folded her arms across her chest, and said, "I don't know how you obtained that information or..." She waved the security pass at him. "... this, but it is a federal offence to gain unauthorised access to a United States military installation. Do you even realise just how much trouble you're in?"

He sighed explosively, trying to stop himself from getting very angry. He said, "Oh, for crying out loud!" He seemed momentarily stunned. "Wow, I can see why Jack uses that expression; it doesn't completely express my dissatisfaction at this situation but it will have to do."

"You're not Daniel."

He said, looking at her urgently, "Sam, I realise how hard this is for you, but it's me; it most definitely is me. Just get Doctor Frasier to do some tests on me. Please, Sam."

Tears surged in Sam's eyes as she looked at the boy in front of her. She gave the security pass back to a concerned Hammond. She said, focussing on Hammond, "Sir, we're wasting our time – we need to find Daniel."

In spite of the boy's protests, Sam turned on her heel and left the room, passing Jack who was on his way in. Noticing an expression he knew all too well – Carter trying not let on how much pain she was in – Jack entered the room and looked at Hammond. He remarked, vaguely pointing back to the doorway,

"Who stole _her_ laptop?"

Hammond gave him a look, trying to convey just how serious a situation they were facing. Jack's attention was then drawn to the boy in front of them. The boy appeared to mildly deflate on seeing the Colonel as though feeling a sense of hopelessness. Nonetheless, he said,

"Jack!"

The Colonel looked at the boy, not giving anything away with his facial expression. He glanced at Hammond and murmured, "Peewee's the security breach?"

Hammond nodded quietly but said nothing as the boy rolled his eyes. Holding his trousers up, the boy said earnestly, "Jack, it's me. It's Daniel."

Jack looked utterly unconvinced as he looked at the boy. He said, "Yeah, I'd buy that." He looked at Hammond. "Some joke; where's Danny?"

Hammond said quietly, "We can't contact or locate Daniel Jackson." He gestured towards the boy. "This young man claims to be Daniel Jackson."

The boy looked completely fed up with the turn of events. He said, "Jack, please!" He sighed. "Fine, you want proof, although if I did give you proof, you're too much of an ass to actually believe me."

Hammond and Jack exchanged an odd look. Jack then shrugged and said, "Well, I've got time to kill..." He looked at Hammond and said, "I still get paid for this, right?"

Hammond shot the Colonel a look, and Jack looked at the boy expectantly. "Well?"

The boy nodded as though expecting things to not improve any time soon. He said with forced calm, "Okay." He looked at Jack. "Jack O'Neill with two 'l's. You were once married to Sara Wilson. You and I went to Abydos through the Stargate in about 1995 or 1996, I forget which."

Noticing that neither of the men budged, the boy continued, "I can't remember your birthday... but you like hockey, curling, and golf. Your favourite beer is 'Heineken'. You will eat anything that doesn't move and you can't barbecue to save your life. You like dogs; your favourite movie is the Wizard of Oz. You drive a dark green Ford. You have a picture of Mary Steenburgen in your locker."

Jack raised an eyebrow at this as Hammond shot the Colonel another odd look. Jack was about to speak when Teal'c entered the room. The Jaffa strode past his colleagues until he was face-to-face with the boy. Teal'c looked at the boy, attempting to faze him with his imposing presence and piercing gaze.

The boy, however, didn't flinch, although he did push his glasses up his nose once again. He said, his voice calmer, "You and Bra'tac don't carry symbiotes any more following a Goa'uld ambush which I read about. You and some other Jaffa are now taking tretonin – you have to have daily injections but you don't need a symbiote."

Teal'c stared at the boy, trying further to faze him as he tried to work out how he could know so much. Teal'c turned back to Hammond and Jack, and said, "How could this child possess this knowledge?"

Hammond looked at Jack who looked back at him and at Teal'c. He remarked with a shrug, "Oh yeah, like I'd know." He raised a finger exaggeratedly. "Here's an idea: I'll find Carter."


	2. Chapter 2

Sam had fled for the confines of her lab to do some work, to avoid dealing with whatever the hell was happening, both on the base and in her head. That hadn't worked out well though – she ended up seated at a table, staring at an empty Word document, her head unable to focus on anything but what was happening. She couldn't focus on anything worthwhile. On the one hand, her career – a career she had worked very hard to maintain – hung in the balance if her superiors – or anyone – discovered the precise nature of her relationship with her team-mate. On the other, Daniel could possibly be in danger and their fairly recent change of circumstance had emotionally compromised her so that she would be beyond useless.

Until then, she hadn't realised just how she had taken for granted her ability to think clearly during most crises or tough situations. Tears formed in her eyes as she recalled the time they had lost Daniel and he had gone away for a year. She had never felt so alone; it felt as though she had lost a large part of herself.

There was a tapping – probably at her door – but she didn't care. They – whoever _they_ were – would go away eventually.

She was startled out of her self pity by the voice of her commanding officer. Great, being a wreck was bad enough but being one in front of a man she had spent her early years on SG-1 trying to impress... well, that was just so much worse. What was worse was that he was calling her by her first name. He only ever did that when he was trying to get through to her when she was being an emotional fruitcake.

"Sam."

Sam tore her eyes away from the not quite as compelling blank Word document. She felt disappointed momentarily – she could have at least pretended to type something. The Colonel was standing at the end of her lab table, looking at her with quite an uncharacteristic or at least rare display of concern. She couldn't even muster the wherewithal to pretend she hadn't been crying. How much more incriminating could she get?

Jack glanced at her laptop screen. He said, deadpan, "Yes, I can see how a blank Word document could be upsetting."

She sighed quietly as she closed her laptop. She glanced down at the tabletop for a moment as Jack fiddled with one of her pens. He looked up at her and said, "Okay, spill. It can't just be your computer."

Sam released a shuddering breath. She said softly, not meeting his gaze, "It's just too soon, Sir."

Jack was careful not to show any outward signs of emotion. She didn't need to elaborate; she knew that he knew that she didn't need to elaborate. He knew that she knew that he knew that... He closed his eyes briefly and mentally shook himself – he was getting quite close to needing a beer. He eventually tuned back to the real world when he realised that Carter was still talking.

"... I'm not sure I can deal with it, Sir."

Now that wasn't the Carter he knew; there was just defeat instead of that can-do attitude and that grin. If she was being 'wobbly' then they were all lost, or at least lost when it came to sciency things and the weird... which was a huge part of their jobs, and which was a huge part of that day in particular. The last time he had seen her anything like the state she was in was right after Daniel had decided to go all glowy instead of carrying on.

Even then, Carter had tried to control herself in front of him; a far cry from her present behaviour. Something was up: something squirrelly. He looked at her in guarded surprise as a lightbulb switched on in his head. The chances of her being under the influence of a contagion, and the chances of her and Daniel doing the dance with no pants, were about equal at that moment.

He sort of would be the latter; the former would just be too much to take during their present drama. But then the latter was a minefield of shit he didn't want to deal with either.

He hazarded a guess. He looked at her in concern, and said, "Sam."

That got her attention again; never underestimate the power of using a first name in the military, he thought, or using the first name of someone as defensive as Carter. At least now she made an attempt to dry her eyes. He said,

"We can talk later... but right now we need that national treasure of yours to get us out of our latest quagmire."

When he spotted fear for the briefest of moments, it gave him pause for thought. His instinct scared him sometimes. As she sorted herself out – or tried to – he said, "Right now, we have a kid saying he's Daniel and knowing a crazy amount of stuff he shouldn't. He's even got Teal'c stumped."

Sam appeared fearful as she regarded her commanding officer. She said, "What are you saying, Sir?"

Jack cocked his head. "I'm saying that if that little tyke isn't Daniel, he's doing a very good impersonation. Frasier's doing some tests; briefing's going to be whenever the good doc's got some news." Noticing that she still looked scared, he said softly, "Carter, I know how hard this is for you – or I can guess judging by the constipated look on your face right now – but we all need you to get to the bottom of this."

She nodded, trying to control her emotions. She said, sounding weak, "Yes, Sir."

"Attagirl." He made to leave the room but stopped when he reached the door. He turned to face a now confused Sam. He said, "I don't know what is going on but your secret's safe with me; regs aside, I don't like the idea of punishing you the first time you start having a life outside of work."

With a smirk at a now terrified Sam, he left the lab.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

General Hammond and Doctor Janet Fraiser were seated at the briefing room table. With them, was SG-1 with the exception, of course, of Daniel. Janet had in front of her an open brown cardboard file which appeared to contain a number of documents. In seven or so years she had seen a great deal when it came to the medical emergencies and quibbles of the SGC. She had dealt with various alien physiologies, viruses, plagues, a friend 'dying' and coming back a year later... but she had never seen anything like this before; it was more like science fiction or as though she was somehow stuck in an impromptu production of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Archaeologist'.

She relayed her findings to the rest of SG-1 and to the General. The General just seemed more and more taken aback while remaining as professional as ever. Colonel O'Neill appeared to be carefully listening to an explanation of more than two sentences for once. He seemed concerned but somehow sure that at the end of the day, all would be back to normal, or what they had come to see as normal. Teal'c had that same casual hope but without as much masked anguish as O'Neill was doing a good job of mostly locking away.

But Sam. Ah. Sam was usually a gauge for the doctor to discover the temperature of the team. The boys tended to lock their emotions away in various ways when they felt like it. But Sam was never any good at it despite her attempts otherwise. Janet could always see through the Major. Sam appeared troubled, as though something else was pressing on her mind. Losing Daniel had always been a sore spot for Sam, and admittedly it was a little soon after that whole thing she was never really sure about anyway – how he had come back from being on another plane of existence.

Janet's attention was drawn back to the General as he questioned her findings, disbelieving not her but the entire situation. She could barely believe it herself. She sighed silently and looked at the report in front of her. She said,

"Initial tests show that within an acceptable margin of error, the boy's DNA is virtually identical to Daniel Jackson's."

Sam seemed to jump at the chance that it wasn't him. She said, "What size margin of error are we talking about?"

Janet glanced at the Major and realised that she had been crying recently. The doctor replied, "Very small. In a court of law, the DNA sample we took from the boy would be considered a high-probability match to the DNA we have on file from Daniel Jackson. There is a…" Janet paused, unsure of what part of her findings meant. "... tiny abnormality, but for all intents and purposes, it's him."

Sam had been resting her chin against her hands, her elbows on the table. She closed her eyes to hold back her tears as Janet's words felt as though they had brought her whole world crashing down. Teal'c's eyebrow rose slightly but he said nothing, the movement of his eyebrow saying all that was needed to be said. Jack on the other hand, usually had something to say, even if it wasn't relevant or appropriate.

He remarked, "_Tiny_ abnormality? Like the fact that he's suddenly regressed twenty years?"

Janet sighed silently. The Colonel sure did know how to compound her feelings of inadequacy when they were faced with something they had never dealt with before. She said, "To be honest, Sir, this is way out of my league. We've got some specialists flying in. We're gonna run more tests, see what we can learn." She appeared momentarily helpless. "I don't know what else to do."

Hammond said, "I suggest we make him as comfortable as possible in the meantime."

Jack said with all seriousness, "I'll get the tyke some books. He'll like that."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel or, as Jack had taken to calling him, _Danny_ was seated at a table in the Commissary with Jack and Teal'c. He was wearing a green flight suit which fitted him somewhat better than the clothes he had tried to enter the base in. Jack and Teal'c looked fairly amused as they regarded the considerably disgruntled archaeologist. Danny pushed bacon around his plate with a fork, the boy not feeling like eating as he underwent teasing from his colleagues.

Jack chewed a forkful of cake, and remarked, "Growing boy like you needs to eat."

Teal'c added, an eyebrow slightly raised, "Indeed. A young warrior must gain his strength from adequate sustenance."

Danny shot them both a glare and he pushed his glasses up. He said, "You guys are having a little too much fun at my expense." He glanced around his colleagues and then looked back at them. "Where's Sam?"

Jack and Teal'c exchanged a knowing look and resumed smirking at their younger colleague. Jack said casually, "You really wanna know?"

Danny eyed them cautiously, noting Teal'c's smirk in particular. He said, "Jack." He put his fork down and glared at the Colonel. "What the hell is going on?"

Jack feigned innocence as he regarded Danny. He then glanced at Teal'c. Teal'c, barely containing his amusement, remarked, "Does possessing a younger body not have certain advantages, DanielJackson?"

Danny focussed on the Jaffa and narrowed his eyes, sensing that there was something behind his colleagues' amusement beyond his overnight transformation. He said, "Theoretically, yes, if I were willing to stay like this, but I don't want to."

Jack had trouble keeping a straight face. He said, "Too bad. I'm sure Carter wouldn't mind you being like this."

Danny blinked, and said, confused, "Jack?"

"Oh, don't play all cute and innocent, Dannyboy." Jack glanced at Teal'c. "We kinda figured you and Carter were doing the dance with no pants." Jack sobered momentarily. "I'm just disappointed you never thought to confide in your best friends here. We're a team."

Teal'c cleared his throat and said calmly, "Correction, O'Neill: _I _surmised that our teammates were having a romantic affair but you dismissed this. It is inadvisable to claim credit for such considering that I am seated in your vicinity."

Jack appeared speechless as Teal'c regarded Danny's offer of a high-five with mild amusement before complying. Jack then looked at Danny who suddenly became embarrassed at the scrutiny. The Colonel remarked, "So, it's true then?"

Danny shook his head and said, "I'm not contributing to gossip."

"Ah, so there is something to contribute?"

"Shut up."

Jack couldn't help but look amused as he resumed eating his cake. He said, "Relax, Danny, if I were in your place I'd be having a blast."

Danny remarked gloomily, "Believe me when I say the quicker Janet can change me back, the better. No-one takes me seriously as a fifteen year old."

"I wouldn't worry about that – we didn't take your seriously as a forty year old."

Danny glared at him. "I'm thirty-eight."

"Same difference."

Danny's glare gave way to concern as he realised something. He said, "Jack, we have to find out why I'm like this. There might be some clues at my house. It's the last place I remember being, well, older."

Jack continued to look amused, taking the opportunity to mock his colleague. Teal'c on the other hand looked decidedly less amused. Teal'c said, "We must go at once to your house if the transformation happened there."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

SG-1, including Danny, were gathered in the living room of Daniel's house once Danny had let them in. The team spread out across the single floor of his house searching for clues of some kind although no-one was sure exactly of what they were looking for. Jack stalked into the kitchen, muttering things about beer and commenting loudly how unusually clean and tidy the place was. Teal'c remained in the living room, examining pictures on the mantelpiece and occasionally shooting Danny and Sam furtive glances.

In spite of all the training she had ever had, Sam was apprehensive to be left alone with the boy who claimed to be Daniel. Still, there was something to solve and as usual, the two of them got to work. Making sure they were out of earshot of the others, they found themselves in Daniel's bedroom. Sam looked at him meaningfully and then shook her head as though to say 'never mind' upon seeing the mess that Daniel had left his bed in.

She said, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Danny sighed, feeling hurt at her reservedness around him. He still felt like him in spite of his physical transformation; why couldn't she see that? He said wearily, "Well..." He paused awkwardly. "... _that_, and then I'm not sure. I think I fell asleep before you went home, which is normal."

She smiled briefly, embarrassed, and he continued, "The next thing I remember is waking up like..." He gestured to himself. "... this. Whatever happened, it must have happened last night between you going and me waking."

Sam listened, intrigued yet disturbed at what he was saying. She said, "We could ask around the local area, see if there are any similar cases or if anyone else experienced anything odd last night."

He nodded. "Yes. I don't see how it would just be me affected or if it is, who or what would benefit from making me like this." He sighed and said, "I have to say that despite some people wanting to retain their youth, I don't want to be like this. I have nothing but bad memories of my adolescence." He sighed, frustrated. "... and you being aloof isn't helping."

Sam was taken aback at his direct dig at her. She was about to say something when he raised a hand. He said, "No, I understand. _This_ is weird." He appeared hurt. "After everything we've been through, you can't accept me like this."

Sam said, surprised, "Daniel, you can't be more than fifteen. It's wrong."

He gazed at her sadly. "I know." He sighed and looked away from her, pain evident in his eyes. He said, "Let's keep looking."

Sam appeared to be on the verge of tears as she watched him doing anything but look at her. She released a shuddering breath and assisted him in his search as they were joined by the rest of their team. Teal'c made a bee-line for the bookshelf, specifically what appeared to be a series of Danny's journals. Jack, on the other hand, began to rummage in drawers. The latter in particular irked Danny somewhat especially when the Colonel found himself going through the archaeologist's underwear. Sam promptly reddened and looked away out of absolute embarrassment when Jack held up a particular piece and turned to face his team-mates, feigned incredulity on his face.

"Daniel. Really?"

Danny, mortified, snatched it out of his hand and put it back in the drawer, shutting it. He looked at Jack threateningly, or at least as threateningly as a fifteen year old male could look at a battle-hardened Air Force Colonel. Jack smirked as he gently pushed Danny's glasses back up his nose and silently challenged him.

Before Sam could intervene in the stand-off, Danny's attention was drawn back to Teal'c who appeared to be reading some of his journals with a keen interest. He was about to stop him when Teal'c reached up to switch a tall lamp on so he could read easier. Danny frowned as everything around him disappeared. He seemed to be surrounded by a white mist, in amongst which were floating bright green orbs. There was silence for a time before he heard some kind of muttering or whirring, he wasn't sure, and he became aware that he was in a supine position. Suddenly, the face of an Asgard moved into his field of vision, staring right down at him.

With just as much suddenness, he was back at home, getting his breath back. He felt somewhat disorientated and found himself being held up by Teal'c. Jack moved closer to him, concerned, as a worried Sam hung back. Jack said seriously,

"Danny?"

As Teal'c helped Danny to sit on the edge of his bed, Danny appeared confused. Realisation gradually dawned but he still remained confused. He said, looking up at his colleagues, "We need to go back to the Mountain; I think the Asgard visited me last night."


	3. Chapter 3

Once again, General George Hammond was at the head of the SGC briefing room table. He stared in confusion – not for the first time by far – at his flagship team; at the predicament they had got themselves into, or rather the predicament that one of them had apparently got into. Once again, SG-1 were telling him things that he had a hard time believing in spite of seven years of the just as or even more unbelievable.

He was in a far from patient mood, having previously been on the phone to the President; the President having somehow received word about the security breach in the form of the boy who claimed to be Daniel Jackson.

Hammond looked at the boy who couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen. He could see a likeness, but it was preposterous that his star archaeologist and linguist could have somehow transformed overnight to a young boy.

But, as Jack O'Neill had repeatedly asserted and/or quipped, stranger things had happened.

The boy, or Danny as Jack had taken to call him, was speaking. Hammond listened, wanting some kind of explanation, and wondering just how everyone else could appear so calm.

"What has apparently happened to me seems to resemble a number of UFO abduction case files I've read."

Jack appeared to be as confused as Hammond was despite his usual emotionless mask. The Colonel sarcastically quipped, "Yeah, little green men flew millions of light years to turn _you_ into a kid... sure... I'll buy that."

Sam looked at Jack meaningfully as though something had occurred to her. Jack, naturally, returned the look, appearing to not understand the meaning behind it. Teal'c, of course, picked up on it but hadn't needed to as he had come to his own conclusions. The Jaffa said,

"This purported encounter is incongruous with all previous contact we have had with the Asgard."

Hammond appeared to be intrigued by what he had inferred from the Jaffa's statement. Sam glanced at Danny but looked away quickly, only to look instead at Jack. Danny appeared hurt by that but said nothing. The Colonel, however, retorted,

"I said little _green_ men; not _grey_ men."

Sam eyed the General briefly, addressing her words to him as she looked to Jack again. She said, "But Sir, Thor has indicated that the Asgard have been keeping an eye on human development on Earth in the past."

Hammond appeared, and felt, even more confused than he already had. He said, "But we're allies now. We've cooperated with them on a number of missions."

Danny muttered as he sank in his seat, "If this is a mission, I didn't sign up for it."

Sam forced herself to look at the teenager. She said, "What could they possibly hope to gain from secretly making you younger against your will?"

Danny shrugged, hesitantly at first as though unused to doing it in such circumstances or unsure whether the action was appropriate. He said, "Well, being however young I am now, I have a lot of hormones and..."

Jack scowled as though disgusted with a mental image that suddenly filled his head. He said, raising a hand, "Yeah, a little much information there, Stud."

Hammond looked at the Colonel in disapproval as Danny and Sam looked towards their team lead with blank looks. Teal'c, however, smirked to himself. While Jack kept up the pretence that there was nothing inappropriate about the turn his thoughts had taken, Danny cleared his throat, a touch embarrassed. He said, glancing at Sam,

"As I was saying... I appear to be a teenager – teenagers generally have higher energy requirements than adults, and they're rife with hormones. Also, my younger brain could absorb information faster compared to my adult brain." He looked at Sam and said gravely, "An Asgard Xenobiologist's field day."

Hammond asked, concerned, "What are you saying?"

Danny turned his gaze to the General. "The Asgard can learn much more about humans and their capabilities from me being like this..." He paused and looked to Sam.

Sam frowned briefly and then her eyes widened in realisation. "Oh!" When the General looked at her in confusion, she said, glancing at Daniel, "Sir, we don't – as yet – understand the ascension process. What if Daniel has some remnant of his time among the Ascended, like intel or cultural knowledge or anything else that the Asgard may want? If the answer's in his brain, then it could – in theory – be easier to access from the brain of a teenager than from a fully formed adult."

Hammond appeared even more troubled than he was as he felt the plot thicken. He said, "Or they could want to know about Earth's defences."

Jack remarked, "Yeah, somehow I don't think that's going to be an issue after Thor beamed Jonas, me, and a whole bunch of supplies out of the most secure place on the planet last year." He looked around at the bemused, and Teal'c's case: amused, faces of his team. He said casually, "There was a lot of ice cream to eat – still burning off the calories now."

Danny stared at Jack and returned his attention to the General. He said, "_Anywho_... I would like to cross-reference old abduction accounts, perhaps see if there are any connections between them and with what may have happened to me." He exhaled. "I would really like to be back to normal quite soon."

Jack retorted, "Normal?" When the General and Danny glared at him, Jack continued, "Yeah, and I have fish in my pond..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teal'c and Sam accompanied Danny back to his office. The latter appeared red-faced and quite annoyed. As they entered the office, Danny spun around to face his colleagues. He said irately, "I'm still me!"

Sam attempted to calm him but hesitated reaching out to him. This infuriated him more. She said instead, "I doubt that a roomful of archaeologists and palaeontologists are going to take a fifteen year old seriously, regardless of how many stranger things have happened these past seven or so years."

Danny retorted fiercely, "That's fine coming from you! You can't even look me in the eye!"

Sam looked down at her feet ashamedly. Teal'c silently guided Danny to the PC. Danny stroppily sat down and then got up again. He said, still annoyed, "Teal'c, you can search online for abduction accounts from the past thirty years." He edged towards a bookcase. "I'll check out the books Jack thought would be amusing."

Sam looked at Danny a touch sheepishly. She then moved to his side. He was still her friend and... well, her friend for the time being, and he needed their help. She said on noticing his surprise, "I'll help you." Her fingers brushed his sleeve gently and she asked, "What exactly are we looking for?"

He turned to Teal'c and said, "Well, any abduction accounts that ... match my story, and, um, obviously, anyone claiming to have physically regressed several decades overnight. We just need to enter our search parameters into the database ..."

Teal'c interrupted him, a small smirk on his lips. He said, "It has already been done, DanielJackson."

Danny and Sam exchanged a bemused glance before standing behind Teal'c's seat at the computer. They exchanged another glance, and Sam exhaled, remarking, "That's a lot of people."

Teal'c replied gravely, "Indeed."

"Can we narrow down the search?"

Danny was agape at the list of records on the computer screen. He said, distractedly at first, "Um... yes... narrow it down to people who saw the same things that I did... the four green lights..."

They watched as Teal'c entered new parameters into the search engine. A new list appeared on the screen which appeared to be shorter than the previous one. Danny and Sam once again exchanged a look. Danny said,

"That... that's a little more reasonable."

He peered at the screen but before he could say anything, Sam beat him to it. She said, curious, "That's interesting. The most recent is from almost two decades ago, and eight are from the United States."

Teal'c said, "You mean to locate them. What do you hope to learn?"

Danny said, appearing shell-shocked, "I have no idea."


End file.
